Are older workers being edged out of job opportunities?

Nearly a quarter of workers claim they've been overlooked because of age

BY
HRD 15 Feb 2019

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Age discrimination is the main reason nearly a quarter of workers in the UK find it difficult to land a new job, a new study showed.

Job search engine Jobrapido interviewed 2,027 Britons to ask what they believed prevented them from getting the job that they wanted.

As many as 24% of workers said they didn’t get the job they applied for because of their age, and that the post was instead given to another candidate who was younger than they were.

The research focused on individuals who were not in education, employment or job training but have had experience working in executive, management, administrative, or manual labour roles.

Jobrapido CEO Rob Brouwer believes some employers are not giving enough equal opportunities to all candidates.

“In spite of the progress of UK employment law and measures to mitigate against the risk of discrimination, it is clear that some companies are not giving candidates a fair ‘playing field,’” he said. “It is disappointing that so many of those trying to get a job believe that age counts against them when their experience should be seen as an asset.”

Brouwer urged HR leaders to do a better job of scrutinising their company’s equality policies and to ensure all candidates, regardless of their age, are provided a detailed breakdown of why they didn’t get the post.